"Explore the dramatic use Shakespeare makes of occult and supernatural elements in 'Macbeth'."

"Explore the dramatic use Shakespeare makes of occult and supernatural elements in 'Macbeth' 

Shakespeare uses the Occult to create tension ad set the tone. This can be seen in act four seen one when the witches show Macbeth three apparitions. The first apparition is a armoured head which warns Macbeth that he should ‘beware Macduff, beware the thane of fife. Dismiss me. Enough’. Shakespeare here is consistent with the supernatural speaking in rhyme which makes it seem more organised and spiritual. The next is a bloody child ‘laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born, shall harm Macbeth’. The image of a ‘bloody’ child is both disturbing and grotesque so would provoke fear to the audience. The final apparition is a crowned child with a crown and a tree in its hand. This one states ‘Macbeth shall never vanquished be until great Burnham wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him’. Here Shakespeare is using the importance of supernatural events to meddle with Macbeths mind and lead him to a false sense of security. This makes the audience question Macbeths’ sanity and provoke fear. The importance of the apparitions being children could be Shakespeare expressing how only the young can be pure enough to not believe the supernatural, which is why Fleance escapes death and in the fourth apparition is seen as a king.

The witches are the most prominent supernatural force in ‘Macbeth’ and are at the heart of the turning points of the play. Shakespeare uses them to drive ideas into Macbeths mind and to shape the play. In the beginning when Macbeth first meets the witches in act one scene three they “appear to be men but your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” and look “not like th’inhabitants o’th’earth”. Here Shakespeare is setting the scene and the style of the play with the grotesque and alien descriptions of the witches. Dramatically, they set up Macbeth and revile his hematia which inevitably sets off the rest of the play. Shakespeare also uses the witches to employ a sense of macabre to the play, “tongue of dog, liver of blaspheming Jew, finger of birth strangled babe”. These are some of the vile and horrific things that they put into the cauldron, the reference to different mutilated body parts creates a evil tone to what is happening and disposes the audience of any pity that they may feel for the protagonist. Lady Macbeth could be said to appear as a fourth witch as deduced by her soliloquy in act one scene five. She often speaks in verse and uses the same grotesque language that the witches use “come spirits and fill me from the crown to the tow topfull of direst cruelty”. Shakespeare uses this dramatically so that when Macbeth is not confronted by the witches, he has one stirring him on at his home. Alternatively it could be thought as she has not become a witch but due to her whishing the spirits to “unsex me here” and “pall me in the dunnest smoke of hell” that she is possessed.

Shakespeare also uses the occult and supernatural to show the correct balance of power. In act two scene four, after the death of Duncan, the supernatural forces start to take over “this sore night hath trifled former knowings”. In this scene the light and dark are pitted against one another “that darkness does face of earth entomb when living light should kiss it”. This gives an eerie tone to the play and uneasiness to the audience, after this unnatural things accrue. The old man experiences “a falcon tow’ring in her pride of place was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed” and Ross recalls how he saw Duncan’s horses “turn wild with nature…’tis said they eat each other”. The unnatural things that happen here is evidence to show that Macbeths actions in killing the king is not right or justified.

In conclusion, the occult and supernatural are used to create a sense of fear and chaos for the audience.

frankinstien

reading jurnal is in my book rather then on here

act two

Looking closely at extracts from Act Two of 'Macbeth' show how Shakespeare creates mood and atmosphere. Analyse language used, particularly the imagery. To be handed in on Monday 11 October as an essay of between 500 and 600 words.

Act two scenes one kicks off with one of Shakespeare most famous soliloquies, the apparition of the dagger. Here Shakespeare uses motifs, animalistic imagery and use of the supernatural to create a eerie mood. He uses repetition of the motif of blood to describe the dagger “gouts of blood” and to describe the murder “bloody business” combining the grotesque of “gouts” and the alliteration of “b,b” gives a real sense of macabre to add to the eerie mood. The idea of nightmare is also explored here with Macbeth questioning his sanity. The question “art thou not fatal vision…a false creation?” shows Macbeth on questioning weather he is on the brink of insanity. “Fatal vision” and “false creation” also add to the macabre feel as it again re-iterates the philosophical idea on whether Macbeth is faced with the supernatural, or whether he is loosing his mind. The supernatural is also mentioned (wixcked dreams, whitchcraft celebrates expand)

It is almost like Shakespeare is questioning is Macbeth is driven by the supernatural or his own free will.

did this a while ago and forgot what i was saying :/

once, twice, three times a lady

lady Macbeth is seeming like a bit of a cow up at this point in the play. the lead of which she has kept Macbeth on so far is getting increasingly shorter oddly as she gets more masculine. since the beginning with her stating to the spirits to "unsex me here" she has been more and more controlling and more and more disturbing. this has happened up to the point were she wants to "plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed his brains out" signifying her lack of maternal nature and rejection of femininity. i believe that it is here when Rather then transgressing from woman to man (like she wants to) she transgresses from woman to a supernatural or insane. i believe this because she starts to equivocate more, like the witches in act one, and her language becomes more deceptive "sleek o'er your rugged looks". she seems the more confident of the two at the moment and as Macbeth has doubts she tries to confront him "you must leave this", "be bright and jovial". this could be due to how she has become more supernatural and separated herself from her emotions and has become slightly more inhuman.

gutted Macbeth, your whipped!

Marxist reading of 'Dracula'

'Dracula' can be seen with a clear Marxist reading. In this novel the team of heroes rely heavily on the use of money to get information and power. Dracula himself is an aristocrat and uses his money and various alias’s to occupy London very quickly. It is due to his ability to buy lots of property quickly that he is able to have so many places to hide the boxes of earth around London, stalling the heroes. It is also safe to say with the band of heroes rely heavily on there money and Mina even states at one point in the novel “I am glad that Lord Goldaming and Mr Morris have so much money to spend”. It is due to there money that they can pay off the people at the boat yard, also due to there money that they can break into Draculas house and also due to there money that they can stall and have breakfast every chapter. The characters in the play that do not have the money and (at the start) Jonathon Harker who is stuck as a prisoner, and the gypsies who are a lot slower then the hero’s. it is for this reason that taking a Marxist reading of 'Dracula', it is money and class that determines the speed and ease that you can do things.

Gothic Eliments

CAST LIST;  There are already just by looking at this gothic traits, there are the three witches (or weird sisters) which co notates with the supernatural and it shows us already that there will be strong elements as we also have a Hecate, three apparitions and three other witches, this mirroring the biblical reference of the holy trinity. Shakespeare also gives us three murderers which is pretty self explanatory. Under Macbeth we have ‘thane of Glamis, later thane of Cawdor, later king of Scotland’ which tells us that this play will include the gothic theme of ambition.

ACT 1 SCENE 1; the setting is important to this scene as Shakespeare rarely uses stage directions. Here Shakespeare describes it a ‘a desolate place’ which is gothic because the word ‘Desolate’ has connotations with absence and places which have been withdrawn from modern day society, this is another common gothic element along with the ‘thunder and lightning’ which it is set in. the way the witches use chiasmus creates ambiguity and confusion “fair is foul and foul is fair”, this in turn eliminates any possibility of the audience working out whether the witches are a good or evil, human or supernatural force.

ACT 1 SCENE 2; here the audience are introduced to Macbeth, he is said to be “brave” and “noble” which is usually the case with main gothic protagonists, he is seen to be ‘set up for the fall’ that is typical of gothic texts. Shakespeare starts to use blood as a motif here, the captain is described as a “bloody man” and the way Macbeth uses his sword is that of “which smoked with bloody execution”. This starts to link the motif to war and the aftermath of it. The grotesque is also slightly explored here with the captain saying “my gashes cry for help” and Macbeth “unseamed him from the nave to the chaps”. The harmony in the play is also broken by the old thane of Cawdor who is a traitor, this again exploring another common theme of treachery and deceit which crops up again a couple of times in the play.

ACT 1 SCENE 3; here the ambiguity of the witches thicken in that Macbeth says “you should be woman but your beards forbid me to interpret that you are” which fits with deception and also verges on transgender of the sexes (of which we see more in Lady Macbeth later). The witches equivocation fits in well here with the whole theme of Ambiguity here “lesser then Macbeth and greater” and then with the following “all hail Macbeth, hale to thee, thane of Glames...thane of Cawdor…king hereafter” this prophecy is important as it is the set up for Macbeths ambition.

ACT 1 SCENE 4; in act four Macbeth starts to realise what he has to do in order for the witches prophecy to come true “I’ll be myself the harbinger”, this having a more sinister back line to it which is explained through Macbeths ‘aside’ “let not light see my black and deep desires”. This contains light and dark as a recurring motif that will crop up soon and also the theme of ambition.

ACT1 SCENE 5; lady M is full of sinister and gothic parts so I will just list them here. “I burned with the desire to question them further” (Macbeth about witches). She wonders whether Macbeth will be able to have the strength to do the evil deed “it is too full o’th’milk of human kindness” she asks the spirits to posses her “chastise with the valour of my tongue” she uses symbolism for the devil “the raven himself is hoarse” as well as “come thick night and pall me in the dunnest smoke of hell”. The transgression of sexes comes across again with “unsex me here and fill me to the toe topfull of direst cruelty”. The motif of blood crops up again “make thick my blood”. And then it ends with my favourite line of the whole play “look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t”

ACT 1 SCENE 6; nothing really happens…

ACT1 SCENE7; blood crops up as a motif again “bloody instructions” Lady M explores the grotesque more “have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out” and then ends with Macbeths parrelellism of “false face must hide what the false heart doth know”.

first blog.

i am a bit stuck as to what text to study. Last year i did Mary Shelly's 'Frankenstein' with Susan Hill's 'The Woman in Black', however i cant do 'F' this year as we are doing it as a set text. The question i will do is; 'To what extent are (taxt one and text two) gorthic and not horror'. I have also read 'The Masque of the Red Death' and Dracula (set text) which is gothic...but not sure if i want to do TMRD